This invention concerns an improved food delivery tray, and more specifically one which features a ribbed component extending upwardly from the upper surface of the tray, at least about its periphery.
The ingestion of food is a necessity in order for an individual to survive. Many individuals are able to partake of food at a location of their own choosing. However, some individuals experience periods of confinement, during which food must be brought to them. For example, an individual may be confined to a hospital or nursing home bed. Or, an individual who is able to walk about their home may need a meal periodically delivered there, either due to their inability to prepare appropriate portions of food or perhaps due to economic hardship. Finally, there is the extremely large inmate population at correctional institutions, many of whom have their meals brought to their prison cell.
Regardless of the environment, food delivery systems have designed reusable food delivery trays for use in such situations. Many of these trays are fabricated from a high temperature plastic, polycarbonate, or polypropylene. Due to the variety of foods served to these individuals at any one meal, the food trays have been partitioned into food retention areas, so as to typically accommodate one type of food in each food retention area. The presence of individual food retention areas keeps syrups, juices, or sauces associated with any one product from coming into contact with an adjacent food selection, thus possibly adversely affecting the aesthetic taste associated with that food. Examples of these type of food trays are Bitel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,451 and Anderson, U.S. Des. Pat. No. 318,207.
As noted above, there are several environments in which reusable food delivery trays are commonly used. For ease of preparation and distribution, the various foods are placed in the predetermined tray compartment and a covering is then placed so as to cover the upper surface of the tray. This covering may be in the form of a lid, of the type shown in Bitel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,451, or in the form of a plastic sheet-like film.
There are advantages associated with the use of the aforementioned film. For example, in actual use, the tray and its corresponding film covering can be placed into a cooking environment, such as an oven. In the cooking environment, the plastic film tends to melt or otherwise adhere itself to the upper surface of the tray. Thus, when the tray is removed from the cooking environment, the food held in the tray is precluded from coming into contact with the air outside the container, thereby keeping dust, germs, and other contaminants away from the food.
When one of the film covered food trays is distributed to the actual consumer of the food, the plastic film may be peeled off and the food eaten. Following ingestion of the food, the tray is collected for washing at a central location with other similar trays, such that the plastic food tray can be recycled. However, there are certain drawbacks associated with this particular type of tray. For example, over time, the area where the film contacts the upper surface of the tray develops a noticeable film residue. This residue tends to make the tray, or at least a portion thereof, appear dirty, thereby making the food served thereon less appetizing. Of course the residue can be removed with more extensive cleaning, but this can be time consuming, and thus relatively expensive, especially where hundreds or thousands of such trays need to be cleaned each day. More often than not, this problem is solved by either letting the consumer eat on what appears to be a dirty tray, or just throwing the clean, albeit unattractive, tray into the trash and buying a new one.
One proposed solution to the xe2x80x9cfilmxe2x80x9d problem is the fabrication of a delivery tray having a number of compartments, with that particular tray system also having a lid. However, although the tray does not develop the undesirable film coating over time, the delivery tray does not allow the food to be kept free of dust, germs, or other contaminants since the space between the tray and the lid is normally not airtight.
It is thus apparent that the need exists for an improved food delivery tray or the like for use with food delivery systems.
The problems associated with developing a food delivery tray system are overcome in accordance with the present invention by forming of a food tray delivery system for serving food to an individual, with the food tray delivery system having a tray with an upper surface and at least one food retention area. The food retention area has a food retention area upper surface and a food retention area sidewall extending generally upwardly from the food retention area upper surface. The food retention area upper surface is spaced a distance below the upper surface and has a peripheral edge. The upper surface has a rib projecting upwardly adjacent the upper surface, with the rib being of a width of less than 2 mm and being of a height of less than 2 mm. In one embodiment of the invention, an intermediate raised area is positioned between the upper surface and the rib above the upper surface.
The food tray in its preferred embodiment includes a plurality of food retention areas, with each of these food retention areas having a respective food retention area sidewall separating each of the food retention areas from one another. Preferably the rib above the upper surface has a width of less than 1 mm and a height of less than 1.5 mm. More preferably, the rib above the upper surface has a width of less than 1 mm and a height in the range of between 0.5-1.5 mm. The rib above the upper surface is positioned intermediate the upper surface peripheral edge and at least one food retention area. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the rib above the upper surface is positioned intermediate the upper surface peripheral edge and all the food retention areas. More preferably, the rib above the upper surface is also positioned intermediate at least two food retention areas. Most preferably, an upwardly extending rib extends around each food retention area. The plastic film cover is retained on the tray where it is in contact with the rib. More preferably, the cover is retained in contact with the tray where it is in contact with the upper surface of the rib.
There is also disclosed a food tray delivery system for serving food to an individual, with the food tray having an upper surface and at least one food retention area, and a cover. The food retention area has a food retention area upper surface and a food retention area sidewall extending generally upwardly from the food retention area upper surface. The food retention area upper surface is spaced a distance below the upper surface and has a peripheral edge. The upper surface has a rib projecting upwardly adjacent the upper surface, with the rib above the upper surface having a width of less than 2 mm and a height of less than 2 mm and with the cover being secured to the upwardly projecting rib. In one embodiment of the invention, an intermediate raised area is positioned between the upper surface and the rib above the upper surface.
The food tray delivery system includes a plurality of food retention areas, with each of the retention areas having a respective food retention area sidewall separating the food retention areas from one another. Preferably, the rib above the upper surface has a width of less than 1 mm and a height of less than 1.5 mm. More preferably, the rib has a width of less than 1 mm and a height in the range of between 0.5-1.5 mm. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the rib above the upper surface is positioned intermediate the upper surface peripheral edge and all the food retention areas. More preferably, the rib above the upper surface is also positioned intermediate at least two food retention areas. Most preferably, an upwardly extending rib extends around each food retention area. The plastic film cover is retained on the tray where it is in contact with the upwardly extending rib. More preferably, the cover is retained in contact with the tray where it is in contact with the upper surface of the upwardly extending rib.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a food delivery tray which is reusable, and able to appear relatively clean after prolonged use.
A further objective is that such a food delivery tray be easy and inexpensive to fabricate.